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Tiny Plot
A Tiny Plot '''(TP) is the driving force behind a MUSH. These are events that help progress the overall story of characters, organisations and the game. A Tiny Plot can be of any scope, and last only a few scenes, or take many months to resolve. They can be created by Staff, or players and involve a small handful of players, or entire factions. How to write a Tiny Plot Most Tiny Plots are pre-conceived, that is, thought of ahead of time. They can then be planned, coordinated and if necessary, approved before beginning. This helps to keep things running smoothly and avoid long delays between scenes. '''Story The most important part of a Tiny Plot is the story. No story, no plot. Premise Every good story begins with premise. Some people say there're only about seven core stories, and that everything ever written is just a variation on those themes. Some say there're even less! But it has to start here. What is the plot, at its very core, about? What's the story you're trying to tell? For example, the premise of The Three Little Pigs ''is that foolishness leads to death, and wisdom leads to happiness. It isn't that three pigs get scared by a wolf and make bad building decisions. A premise can usually be summed up in a single sentence and because premises are so universal, they're often cliches. For example 'Pride comes before a fall'. '''Framing' Once you've figured out what sort of story you're telling, its time to look at how to tell it. This is where a handful of possible premises become the millions of stories humans have been telling for millennia. Who is the story about? What is at stake? What will motivate the characters in it to action? What're the consequences of action, or failing to act? The Three Little Pigs is a story about foolishness and wisdom, but its characters are the three pigs, and the wolf. The lives of the pigs are at stake; the pigs are motivated in their actions by their desire to live (or their fear of death, if you prefer) while the wolf is motivated by his hunger. The consequences of action vary - the wrong (and foolish) actions, building a house of straw or sticks produce negative consequences - the pigs are eaten! But the correct (wise) course of action, building a house of bricks, produces a positive consequence, the pig is safe from the wolf. Had the pigs failed to act at all, they'd have been killed regardless. Enrichment The Three Little Pigs is a very basic story. It need not be about a wolf and three pigs, those characters are entirely replaceable with others who face a similar dilemma; an antagonist desires something that will harm the protagonists, who must act to deny the antagonist if they wish to avoid the harm. As an author writing a book, you have total control over both the setting and the characters involved - the world exists in whatever state you specify, the characters have only the resources, experience and motivations you provide them with. Writing for an collaborative environment like a MUSH is a little different. The setting is established by someone else, and reacts to the actions of the characters within it. Characters controlled by other people, with resources, experience and motivations you may not be aware of, or have anticipated. It is therefore a good idea to think about the ways free-thinking characters will respond. If you want them to choose a particular course of action over other possibilities, how can you make that course of action the most appealing? What if they do something else, how will you handle that event; will you run with it, and adapt the story around them, or will you need to have a means of turning them back in the direction you originally intended? What clues and leads will you need to give the players? How will you communicate those to them? Will you need non-player characters under your control, if that character is important, what is their stake in all this, what motivates their actions? Over-scripting a Tiny Plot is usually a bad idea - players like to have an impact on the stories they take part in, for their involvement to produce a result that would not have otherwise happened - else why did they even bother, when the consequence of inaction would've been the same? It is often best to keep a Tiny Plot simple 'behind the curtain', it makes it easier to react to unexpected events and you'll panic less if things continue to more or less fit the general direction you intended, than if someone goes off a highly detailed script. The most challenging part of a good TP is adapting to player actions, so don't beat yourself up and if in doubt, ask for help! Its what we're here for. Scheduling Once you've got your story figured out, the next step is all practical. How many scenes MUST take place for a plot to conclude? Players will roleplay around your plot all by themselves - its a good sign when they choose to bring it up in their other scenes! - but the number of scenes that you will need to run for ''them to be able to resolve the plot is something you need to bare in mind. Its ok for this number to be a little variable - players might take longer to overcome a challenge than you planned, or sidestep one easily that you'd thought would keep them busy for a while, but you should still have a rough idea. Once you know how many scenes you'll need to run, when will you be able to run them? We all have Real Lives to attend too, and when you're free to run these scenes will dictate who will be able to reliably take part. The more complex and lengthy your TP, the more important it will be that the same players can attend the majority of scenes. How long will each scene take? This can be hard to gauge, and its common to 'pause' a scene when the time available for gaming runs out, and arrange to resume it at an agreed later point, but it will impact on how many scenes you'll really be running, so its something to bare in mind. '''Approvals' Depending on the scope of your TP, you may need to seek approval from MUSH staff before you can run it. Generally speaking, if you want the outcome of your TP to substantially change a situation beyond the characters taking part, or wish to involve significant assets belonging to a group, organisation or faction you will need approval from the relevant group. In the case of player-run organisations, you should contact them directly, while Faction staff are correct point of contact for things involving them. Staff are here to help facilitate roleplay for all players on the MUSH. So far as possible, we will try to work with you to achieve your aims, we may even be able to recommend enhancements to a plot you couldn't have been aware of, so never be afraid to talk to us about an idea you have for a TP. Advertising Once you've written your TP, and gotten all the necessary approvals, it is time to advertise it to players. After all, a TP with no players is like a play with no actors! The bboard system (+help bboard) contains a board explicitly for the purpose of advertising and discussing TPs and you may also wish to post on the boards of the involved factions. When advertising a TP, it is important to get players' interest, but not to give the game away. This of a plot synopsis on the back of a DVD - it needs to persuade someone to buy it - but not to make them feel like they needn't bother watching the film. It can be a good idea to tease details, and ask open-ended questions that players will want to answer through their actions. It can also be helpful to specify the themes of the plot, so that players who prefer to take part in intense battles will not turn up to your backroom politicking plot and be bored, and so that those players who very much enjoy those themes will know to make the time to take part. Some people prefer to simply declare a date and time and see who turns up, this can work for TPs with only one or two scenes, or where continuity of participants is not important. But for more complex TP's it is often a recipe for disaster and frustration. It is usually better to try and get a 'head-count' and find a mutually agreeable time to schedule scenes. Category:MUSH Terminology Category:Guides